Teacher Tales #31 – Staying in the teaching “game”, demystifying and diversifying curriculum to create inclusivity and relatability – Tracy: French teacher, “griot” and role model with great advice for new teachers
In this episode, Tracy shares his story and journey as a Black man from the projects of Atlanta who is the Kentucky World Language Teacher of the Year. He tells us that all teachers are like “griots” or storytellers from the West African culture. He explains how our personal stories, and the content that we demystify and diversify in the classroom for our students help to create space for an inclusive learning community that all students can relate to. He also mentions engaging strategies like “Card Talk”, “What’s Up?”, “Flag it” and “Picture Talk” as ways to give everyone “a seat at the table” in order to share different perspectives, ideas and open more pathways for communication. Tracy also tells us that we need to focus on the present moment and live in that energy in order to connect to students and their lives. He details how we need to meet students where they are and not focus on the past or the future, a perspective he gained when he returned to his classroom in September last year and noticed how everything was “frozen in time” from the pandemic on March 13, 2020. Tracy also has 10 tips of advice to new teachers on how to not only stay in the game of teaching, but also, how to bring your “A game” to the classroom every day and know that you are making a difference.